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Except temperatures were hovering close to –20 C last Wednesday evening when Chantal Huinink, a master’s student at Wilfrid Laurier University, arrived at the Toronto Coach Terminal to board a Greyhound bus back to Kitchener.

Huinink, who uses an electric wheelchair, was in Toronto with a friend to see Les Misérables and had booked the trip with the bus company’s accessibility office a week before.

But what should have been a one-hour journey turned into a bone-chilling, four-hour ordeal. The 30-year-old social work and divinity student came close to being seriously injured and then stranded in the freezing cold, due to faulty equipment and untrained drivers. Huinink finally had to be rescued by firefighters.

“This was an emotionally traumatic and physically troubling experience,” she said in an interview this week. “I believe it violated the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act in many ways, and I really want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone in the future.”

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Provincial regulations requiring public transit companies to provide accessible equipment and trained operators have been in force in Ontario since 2011, said disability activist David Lepofsky.

“The Access for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) has important enforcement provisions. It has stiff fines, provisions for directors and inspectors, and appeals to a tribunal,” he said.

“Yet as far as we can discover, there is no Ontario government phone number that people like Chantal can call to report a barrier that violates the AODA,” he said. “We have been asking for this since 2012.”

A spokesperson for Eric Hoskins, the minister of economic development, trade and employment, said the act sets standards and doesn’t play a role in resolving complaints between individuals and organizations.

Individuals are encouraged to contact organizations directly. If they feel their rights are still not being upheld, they can file a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, said Gabe DeRoche.

But Lepofsky said people with disabilities shouldn’t be forced to go to the Human Rights Commission.

“We have never said (the government) should send an investigator for every complaint,” he said. “But there should be a number to call to lodge a complaint so the government can track what’s going on.”

Huinink said she has faced faulty equipment and untrained drivers on Greyhound and GO Transit buses before. But this trip was particularly egregious.

Huinink arrived at the bus terminal to find the wheelchair lift ready for her. But she had to wait for 25 minutes in frigid temperatures while the driver struggled unsuccessfully to untangle the tie-downs for the lift.

Finally, at 8:30 pm, she was asked to take another bus, which she boarded without incident. Anxious not to miss her pre-booked accessible-transit ride home from the Kitchener bus terminal, Huinink didn’t argue when the driver used only two straps to secure her wheelchair.

But when the driver hit the brakes, Huinink’s wheelchair jerked forward and her feet became painfully wedged in the seats in front. Unable to move the seats — and apparently unaware of how to operate the side door to access the straps and free Huinink — the driver returned to the bus terminal for help.

With no other accessible buses available, the driver and other Greyhound staff eventually used a cable to secure everything in place.

Since Huinink had now missed her connection in Kitchener, Greyhound staff agreed the driver would drop her off at the university.

But when the driver arrived at the busy intersection of University Ave. and Hazel St. and opened the accessible door to activate the wheelchair lift, it descended to the sidewalk and got stuck, leaving Huinink stranded on the bus with the door open.

“The driver tried troubleshooting — opening the lift, closing the lift, fastening the seatbelt, unfastening the seatbelt, trying to drive the bus with the lift down and the door open . . .This went on for half an hour,” Huinink said, noting that the bus alarm — which activates when the door is open — was deafening.

“My companion and I were very cold and it was too loud for us to tolerate,” she said in an interview this week.

By this time — it had been about three hours since her journey began — Huinink had to use the washroom.

“The driver could offer no ideas as to how or when I would be able to get off the bus,” she said. “He seemed at a loss at what to do.”

Huinink was finally forced to call campus security, who called the Waterloo fire department on her behalf. Firefighters helped her safely off the bus — about three and a half hours after her ordeal had begun.

Greyhound officials will be contactingHuinink to apologize, said a company spokesperson at the head office in Dallas.

“This is not reflective of how Greyhound operates. We pride ourselves on stellar customer service and a stellar travel experience. It appears this situation does not reflect that,” Alexandra Pedrini told the Toronto Star.

Greyhound, which is subject to Ontario accessibility standards, is conducting an internal investigation, including interviews with the drivers, to determine exactly what happened, she said.

All coaches are checked daily to make sure the wheelchair lifts and tie-downs work. Those inspections did occur in this case and the buses were found to be “roadworthy,” said Pedrini.

Drivers undergo extensive training, including the operation of wheelchair equipment, she said. They also receive refresher training annually, but it doesn’t always include accessibility practices.

“We’re looking into exactly what the cause was for the entire situation and we’re working to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Pedrini said.

While not all Greyhound buses have wheelchair lifts, the company will provide one with 48 hours’ advance notice from a customer, and that was certainly the case for Huinink’s trip, she said.

“Establishing reliable transit, where all the drivers are trained and equipment is in good working order, is important for my full employment and my ability to serve others as well,” Huinink said.

“But it is a bigger issue than just me. Everyone deserves equality of service. It is supposed to be the law in Ontario.”

Wheelchairs on transit

GO Transit: All buses are accessible. Highway coaches use an exterior motorized lift. Low-floor double deckers have a ramp. All buses are inspected nightly, including the ramps. Riders don’t have to call ahead. But on an unfamiliar route they are encouraged to call ahead by three business days to determine whether their stop is accessible.

All GO trains include an accessible coach with ramp access from a raised platform. But six GO stations remain inaccessible — Long Branch, Mimico, Bloor, Eglinton, Georgetown and Kipling. GO plans to make the entire system accessible by 2016.

TTC: All TTC buses are accessible by ramp or lift. Drivers are responsible for making sure ramps work before they leave the garage. While subway trains are accessible, only 32 of 69 stations are accessible. While the new TTC streetcars that begin rolling out on some routes later this year will be completely accessible, the existing streetcar fleet is not. TTC drivers receive training on how to deploy all lifts and ramps. They also receive sensitivity training from the TTC's Advisory Committee on Accessible Transportation.

VIA Rail: Trains on the Quebec City to Windsor corridor and long-haul routes are accessible by lifts or elevated platforms, according to the company. The trains include wheelchair tie-downs. Stations are equipped with elevators, sliding doors, Braille signage, accessible washrooms and wheelchair lifts. At unstaffed stations, staff on the trains are expected to assist passengers with disabilities. Train staff will assist riders with disabilities throughout the trip, including assistance with washrooms. Passengers need to request that service 48 hours in advance. Staff are trained to deal with people with disabilities, and that training is refreshed every three years.

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